Vance Leads Push To Crack Down On $250 Billion In Federal Fraud

By Breccan F. Thies | The Federalist

The Trump administration’s efforts to attack government fraud are beginning in earnest, with a memo directing the first steps for the President’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which the government says accounts for $250 billion in losses every year.

“Every year, hardworking Americans pay taxes to fund a vast benefits system for citizens in need. These benefits programs are laudable and are a testament to the generosity of the American people,” the memo to task force members from Vice President J.D. Vance and Federal Trade Commission Chairman (FTC) Andrew N. Ferguson, who serves as the task force’s vice chair, states.

“Unfortunately, these programs have been plagued by decades of waste, fraud, and abuse. By one estimate, fraud in federal benefits programs results in losses of about $250 billion per year, and the true number may be higher. These funds are stolen both from the taxpayers and from vulnerable Americans most in need of help.”

Fraudsters like the Somalis in Minnesota and many others across the country (many of whom are foreigners) are “bleeding the federal government dry, robbing taxpayers, and denying honest Americans the services for which they have paid,” the memo states.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently identified and suspended 70 hospice and home health providers flagged for fraud. That comes after Vance and CMS administrator Mehmet Oz suspended nearly $260 million in Medicaid funds going to Minnesota in February due to fraud concerns.

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